Congressional Republicans say President Obama isn’t doing enough to battle the terror group ISIS in Syria. Senator Roy Blunt (R-Missouri) said Obama is the only person that doesn’t believe the unrest in Syria is a top issue.

“The biggest threat we face is not the climate. The biggest threat we face right now is people who would like to kill us,” said Blunt.

Senators McCaskill and Blunt feature

Sen. Blunt: President underestimates ISIS, Sen. McCaskill defends Obama

Blunt said the President is underestimating the threat of ISIS in Syria.

“The President just continues to refuse to focus on this as any more than just sort of a things happen and eventually the arc of history will prevail,” said Blunt. “I don’t know that we’re likely to prevail in the arc of history if we act like we don’t care.”

Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri) defends Obama and said he’s following the military’s advice.

“For every additional position we take militarily, we have to plan for what comes after that,” said McCaskill. “I think everyone is anxious not to repeat the mistakes of Iraq, where we rushed in without really giving thought to what vacuum we were going to leave behind.”

“This is probably an area where there is more irresponsible Monday morning quarterbacking going on than any other area,” said McCaskill. “That’s because this is really difficult. For every action, there is a reaction.”

McCaskill said additional Special Operations forces are important in Syria to avoid citizen casualties. In October, Obama said he would send less than 50 Special Ops troops to the region.

The President stands behind his approach to Syria, where ISIS is gaining ground. He said the strategy will intensify and ultimately work in time. Obama said that airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition have effectively eliminated some key members of the terror group and a large number of ground troops in Syria would be a mistake.